Question External USB Hub

[Hutchins4292]

I have an older HP ENVY laptop with 4 external USB ports. I have a monitor, keyboard and mouse attached plus a Bluetooth radio leaving only 1 USB port. I want to use the remaining port to attach an external USB hub. I want to use that remaining port to attach an external SSD and an external HDD plus have space for phone, thumb drives etc when needed. I have a Sabrent powered hub with 12 ports, but the SSD, the HDD, the iPhone, and unknown others, will not run when connected to the hub.

Is there an external USB hub that will do what I want to do? I considered Bluetooth for the keyboard and mouse but all those I've found require a USB port for each; so there is no advantage over using cabled keyboard and mouse. I would like to use USB 3.1 for increased throughput but that is not critical '

Related, but different, is the fact that I can't get the HDD external drive to work even when plugged into one of the 4 USB ports on the laptop. The SSD does work but the HDD does not. I've tried re-seating the WD 3TB drive in the enclosure, different USB ports, different USB cables, and rebooting with it connected --- all without fixing the problem. Windows Disk Management does not display the HDD but the SSD does display. Yes, I did have the power on on the enclosure. I don't have another computer to test the HDD setup with.

The reason that I want to attach an external HDD is to house an XAMPP and Wordpress development environment to keep from using up space on the internal 1TB HDD.

Am I expecting too much? Is it not possible to attach an HDD externally with USB?

 

[Paperdoc]

First of all, the laptop may have only USB 2 ports. Can you find specs for it to verify what version of USB you do have?

USB 2 ports can supply power at up to 0.5 A per port. That is quite enough for simple devices, but there never were ANY "portable hard drives" that could function on that limited power. The motors in them need more. I can imagine that an SSD would work, though, because it probably uses less power.

The units now sold as "Laptop Hard Drives" are designed for use with USB 3 ports, and those all can provide power at up to 0.9 A, sufficient for those drives. Although they also claim they are "USB2 Compatible", what that really means is that IF YOU can rig a power supply of at least 0.9 A for it, the unit CAN operate and communicate with a USB 2 port at the slower USB 2 speed.

The Sabrent Hub you have is "powered", you say. Have you connected the "power brick" that came with it to the Hub? It cannot provide adequate power to your devices without that. ALSO pay attention to which of its ports are "Charging Ports". Normally such ports can NOT be used for ANY data device - they can only charge something. Maybe tell us the MODEL number of that Hub so we can look up specs.

Here's another idea - I don't know whether this is required. I suspect you are trying to use a USB 3 Hub by Sabrent on a USB 2 port on the laptop. MAYBE the default device driver loaded for the Hub is not suited to that mix of port types. You might ask Tech Support at Sabrent if this is your issue.

 

[Hutchins4292]

Thanks for the response.

First, I do have the USB hub power block plugged in. It has lights to show when it is on; those lights are lt.

Next, the HDD enclosure is powered just like the Sabrent hub is. It, too, is plugged in and the light comes on when I press the on/off button.

I'll have to look into the USB support on the laptop. IDK off the top of my head.

Thanks again.

 

[Hutchins4292]

OK, I checked Device Manager and found this:
Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 Microsoft

I think this says that the laptop can run 3.0 speed which (I think) is up to 5GB. This should be adequate.

With both the hub and the external HDD enclosure having their own power, does this mean that it should be possible to run the HDD and SDD from a port on the Sabrent HUB without changing other system settings?

I suppose it's possible that the Sabrent hub is faulty, too.

Do you know of a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo that will run from a single USB radio plug in? That might allow me to attache d HDD without the USB hub.

 

[Paperdoc]

What else is shown under USB Controllers in Device Manager? On this desktop system I have that device, plus two Hubs. One is a "USB 3.0 Root Hub (I believe that's part of my mobo), and the other is a "Generic USB Hub" which I am sure is an old USB2 hub I have on a USB2 port. So you should have at least one thing OTHER than the Host Controller.

Also check: for each of those listings, is there any yellow triangle symbol that indicates a problem? If so, you need to investigate why? You may be missing a driver.

I note that my actual keyboard and mouse devices are shown under different headings and not in the USB Controllers item at the bottom.

You could try some testing. I think you have one USB port still open. Try plugging into that one at a time the items you want to connect. Each should work except possibly the HDD - but even that should work if its power brick is connected. If you can show that all those devices work on a normal USB 3 port but none can work when connected to your Hub, then I'd talk to Sabrent about a replacement under warranty of the faulty unit.

 

[rtp]

Wouldn't throughput to drives be negatively impacted when connected to the same (computer's) USB port via the hub?

 

[Hutchins4292]

Is there a way to post screen shots or other images here without linking to them?

 

[rtp]

Is there a way to post screen shots or other images here without linking to them?

There are several free (some anonymous) image-hosting sites profiled at https://www.techradar.com/best/the-best-anonymous-image-hosting-sites-in-2022 , but most require an account at the least (so requires your email address).

One does not require any sign-up whatsoever: ImageBam: https://www.imagebam.com/

Make sure you allow JavaScript for imagebam.com. Then open Windows Explorer to the folder where the image is, re-size your windows conveniently, and drag the image to the big "Add Files" area on the ImageBam page. (Alternatively, you may click and browse to upload.) You must specify if this is "Adult" or "Family safe" content, and choose a preset thumbnail size. You can save to a gallery when you post, or just post the image by itself. Then click "Upload now".

After a few seconds, a page appears with links to your image. There are direct, BBcode, and HTML code, and also versions for sharing (IDK what the difference is; clearly "direct" is identical either way).

Here's a BBcode URL:

[URL=https://www.imagebam.com/view/MENROUB][IMG]https://thumbs4.imagebam.com/bf/01/8d/MENROUB_t.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Here's a Direct Link:

https://www.imagebam.com/view/MENROUB

But apparently, this forum's restrictions won't work with those links for the "Insert Image" button. I will try to use just the URL to the thumbnail cut from the BBcode (which is https://thumbs4.imagebam.com/bf/01/8d/MENROUB_t.jpg) in the "Insert Image" dialog:

I sucessfully did that for a tutorial I was creating (unfortunately lost when I accidentally stroked my touchpad).

 

[Misgar]

I think the first thing to sort out is the external WD 3TB drive. Is it a 2.5in (laptop) portable drive or a 3.5in (desktop) drive?

I have a number of 2.5in portable drives, in USB2 and USB3 versions. They all seem to work quite happily when connected directly to my laptops and don't need any additional power bricks.

My 3.5in USB3 desktop drives are powered from 12V 1.5A DC power bricks and also work fine when connected directly to my laptops.

I suspect the problem is your USB hub is not compatible with the HDD, even though the drive enclosure is receiving adequate power. Perhaps you could swap your other USB devices about and connect your external hard disk directly to the laptop. It might start working.

If you want to see what USB devices and hubs are connected to your computer, try Nirsoft's USBDeview.
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

I can recommend the Inateck range of USB hubs and hard disk caddies, because they support UASP (USB Attached SCSI).
https://www.inateck.com/collections/usb-hub
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Attached_SCSI

External drives work faster if the caddy/hub/computer all support UASP.
https://goughlui.com/2014/08/26/an-...-part-2-transcend-ssd340-256gb-storejet-25s3/